TO SEE HIS GLORY
"Then Moses said, 'Now show me your glory.' And the Lord said, 'I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. . .But,' He said, 'You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.' Then the Lord said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.' "
Notice that it was God who placed Moses in the cleft of the rock. Sometimes God puts us in the hard place for the purpose of showing His glory. At such times, we are always close to Him and protected by His hand. When we find ourselves in a hard place, we have two choices:
1. Look at the rock. When we look at the rock we see the hard unyielding surface. We feel stuck facing the rock with no way out.
We are isolated, immobilized and powerless.
2. Or we can turn around in the hard place and look for God. Looking out, we can see what God has been doing, His glory as
He departs from accomplishing His work. We will be empowered by His power, enabled to move out of the hard place. We will
see the way of escape He provides.
Also, when we are covered by His hand in the hard place, safe, protected by God Himself, nothing can get to us without going through the hand of God. In the cleft of the rock, we are safe. How often have I thought of such a refuge as a prison when God meant it to be a haven?
This seeing of the glory of God as He departs, after finishing His work, allows us to know what God is like in a new way because we have seen Him work. Knowing God is a gift that God longs to give us. If we could see the entire process as part of the gift and look for God when we find ourselves in a rocky place, how would that change our vision, our attitudes, our lives and the lives of those around us?
What difference would it make to me if, instead of beating my head against the rock in anguish and defeat, I turned my back to the hard place, rested in the crack of the rock, even rested IN the hard place, and focused on the glory of God as I watched what He was doing? Would it change me if I saw that He was nearby, protecting me in the midst of the bad circumstances? When I look at the rock, the hard place, the circumstances that have pummeled me so viciously that I cannot move, I am also unable to see God's hand covering me, protecting me. I can only see the rock, the hard impossibility of the situation.
The rock will not change. But I change. I become hopeless or able to hope, depending on where I choose to look. Looking at God I am aware of the nearness of God, how He moves people in and out of my life to comfort me, pray with me and support me. I see how He has led me to the hard place to meet Him in a new way. I gain power to move. The glory of God becomes visible. And as God departs, He gives me Someone to follow out of the difficult situation into a new deepened relationship with Himself.
Notice that it was God who placed Moses in the cleft of the rock. Sometimes God puts us in the hard place for the purpose of showing His glory. At such times, we are always close to Him and protected by His hand. When we find ourselves in a hard place, we have two choices:
1. Look at the rock. When we look at the rock we see the hard unyielding surface. We feel stuck facing the rock with no way out.
We are isolated, immobilized and powerless.
2. Or we can turn around in the hard place and look for God. Looking out, we can see what God has been doing, His glory as
He departs from accomplishing His work. We will be empowered by His power, enabled to move out of the hard place. We will
see the way of escape He provides.
Also, when we are covered by His hand in the hard place, safe, protected by God Himself, nothing can get to us without going through the hand of God. In the cleft of the rock, we are safe. How often have I thought of such a refuge as a prison when God meant it to be a haven?
This seeing of the glory of God as He departs, after finishing His work, allows us to know what God is like in a new way because we have seen Him work. Knowing God is a gift that God longs to give us. If we could see the entire process as part of the gift and look for God when we find ourselves in a rocky place, how would that change our vision, our attitudes, our lives and the lives of those around us?
What difference would it make to me if, instead of beating my head against the rock in anguish and defeat, I turned my back to the hard place, rested in the crack of the rock, even rested IN the hard place, and focused on the glory of God as I watched what He was doing? Would it change me if I saw that He was nearby, protecting me in the midst of the bad circumstances? When I look at the rock, the hard place, the circumstances that have pummeled me so viciously that I cannot move, I am also unable to see God's hand covering me, protecting me. I can only see the rock, the hard impossibility of the situation.
The rock will not change. But I change. I become hopeless or able to hope, depending on where I choose to look. Looking at God I am aware of the nearness of God, how He moves people in and out of my life to comfort me, pray with me and support me. I see how He has led me to the hard place to meet Him in a new way. I gain power to move. The glory of God becomes visible. And as God departs, He gives me Someone to follow out of the difficult situation into a new deepened relationship with Himself.
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